Tall fescue, specifically Kentucky 31, is a cool-season grass that is widely grown throughout Kentucky and the eastern United States because it is resistant to many unfavorable conditions including drought tolerance and insect resistance. However, the very reason for its resiliency is also its Achilles heel. It contains a harmful fungal endophyte that causes fescue toxicosis in cattle and horses. Affected animals get sick, have reduced weight gains, reproductive problems and other issues.

In a fit of gratitude, I made a list of the things I loved about my life the other day. I managed eight solid things, none were frivolous, and one prompted the whole exercise: I love warm February days. This beautiful February day set into motion a very productive weekend. It felt fantastic to get some good old fashioned garden clean up done with my husband by my side and the sheep grazing freely about. It makes you feel optimistic about the rest of your life.

Mildred Bond Cammack of Sparta will celebrate her 100th birthday on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, with family and friends at Gallatin Nursing & Rehab. Mrs. Cammack was married to the late Lester Cammack and lived on a farm near Sparta. Mrs. Cammack was an only child and has one son, Jim Cammack, and one grandson, F. Scott Cammack and several great-grandchildren. She retired in 1983 from Kentucky state government and was named a Kentucky colonel.

Cut flowers are undoubtedly the most popular manifestation of showing your love for someone on Valentine’s Day but potted flowering plants can do the trick, too. Perhaps the potted bloom has the potential to remind your lover that the sentiment lasts all year, but what does it mean if you can’t get it to bloom again? Is your love doomed? Of course not, but here are some tips just in case.

Soon you’ll be receiving seed catalogs for the 2017 vegetable-growing season. While listening to the cold wind blow outside, what a comfort it is to think about spring and summer and planning your garden.

To make the most of your garden, every aspiring gardener should follow seven steps to have a successful gardening season.

Perhaps this can be a reminder of the payoff of “putting up” the garden in spring, summer, and fall: We have extended our homegrown eating pleasure into the winter months with some basic preservation methods. If you froze, dried, canned or otherwise preserved fresh fruits and vegetables in 2016 do not forget about them (or horde them for some unreasonable time).